Tensions rise as Belarus begins military drills near Poland and Lithuania
Belarus has begun military exercises near its border with Poland and Lithuania, as tensions heighten with the two Nato members over Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries who moved to Belarus after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.
Both Poland and Lithuania have increased border security since thousands of Wagner fighters arrived in Russia-allied Belarus under a deal that ended their armed rebellion in late June and allowed them and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to avoid criminal charges.
Leaders of the two Nato nations have said they are braced for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in a sensitive area where both countries border Belarus as well as the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The comments were made early in August after two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly at low altitude into Polish airspace. Belarusian authorities denied their helicopters entered Poland.
The Belarusian defence ministry said the drills that began on Monday are based on experiences from “the special military operation” – the term Russia uses for its war in Ukraine. It said that includes the “use of drones as well as the close interaction of tank and motorised rifle units with units of other branches of the armed forces”.
The war games were taking place in the Grodno region of Belarus, near the so-called Suwalki Gap – a sparsely populated stretch of land running 96km (60 miles) along the Polish-Lithuanian border. It links the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the rest of the Nato alliance and separates Belarus from Kaliningrad, a heavily militarised Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea that has no land connection to Russia.
Military analysts in the west have long viewed the Suwalki Gap as a potential flashpoint area in any confrontation between Russia and Nato. They worry that Russia might try to seize the gap and cut off the three Baltic states from Poland and other Nato nations.
Belarus’ military has said it is actively using Russian mercenaries to train its troops, and the exercises began as more Wagner fighters reportedly arrived in the country. Mercenaries arrive in small groups daily, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements in Belarus.
Grey Zone, a Wagner-linked blog on the messaging app Telegram, reported Monday that about 7,000 Wagner fighters are at a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230km north of the Ukrainian border. The claim could not be independently verified.